Useful
by Foxieglove
Summary: (updated 6/1/03) The BH boys deal with Pietro's new reign over them while Todd deals with Magneto's offer and the painful memories of failure.


**Useful**

Brilliant flames engulfed his body, making the world around him an orange hue. Todd gave an inaudible squeak of fear, wondering when the sensation of burning flesh was going to set in. It never did. Instead he felt a mass amount of energy course through his nerve system like tiny poking needles. Todd_ hated _needles.

"Back off," Remy hissed. "I let go and you be repainting de walls. Let's talk." His grip tightened on the drape wrapped snugly about Todd's frame. The amphibious teen was inches close to hyperventilating. So he _wasn't_ going to burn to death. He was going to explode. What _fun!_

"Eh-heh . . . talkin's good, talkin's great. We hate painting," he babbled, beads of sweat forming on his brow.

Lance held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, it's your show."

"Non. It's Magneto's show." Remy's mouth curved into an egnimatic smile. 

"H-hey, do you think you could, uh, you know, let me --"

"He's giving you a chance to prove yourselves," Remy cut him off, heedless of Todd's voice and the expression on his face. _A chance to prove yourself? Oh shit. Not that again. _The boy closed his eyes and looked away, trying without success to squash down unpleasant memories. "Trust me, you do _not_ want to turn de man down."

"Uh, okay," murmured Fred. "What's he want us to do?"

Remy shrugged nonchalantly. "Morceau de gâteau, vraiment. Just bust loose a captured mutant." 

"Great," Todd said, though he sure as hell didn't think it was. He was getting nervous that Remy would forget about him and let go. And the wild energy bounding around inside him was doing bad things to his head. "Oh, and, uh, by the way, could you --"

With a yank of the curtain, Remy sent Todd twirling across the room like a demented top. "Aaaagh---oof!" Luckily, Freddy was there to break his fall. Todd lay across him, eyes half-closed and waiting for his body to recover from the change in energy levels. His heart was pounding so fast it was making him dizzy.

"So who's Magneto got in mind?" Lance asked carefully. 

"Votre vieil ami . . ." Remy answered calmly. "Pietro."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lance gaped incredulously at the white-haired boy in front of them. Where the hell did he get the gall to show his face here again? As if they were actually going to listen to him?

"First order of business, let's get this house clean."

All three of them stood there, staring at Pietro. The quiet was broken only by the front door shutting, signifying Gambit's departure. Fred, Lance and Todd looked at one another, each silently daring someone to make the first move.

"Well?" Pietro demanded, tapping his foot rapidly. There was an intensity in his face none of them had seen before. "What's it going to be? Do you accept my help or not?"

"Hell no," the youngest member of the Brotherhood voiced. Pietro smirked, making Todd stiffen uneasily.

"Now, now, Todd. Maybe things will end differently this time. Being left behind was pretty hard on ya, wasn't it?" 

Todd didn't answer save for turning a shade paler. Pietro zipped over to stand behind him. "He's giving you a second chance. Well, actually, for you it would be a third chance. Hold up, I lost count. Maybe it's a fourth?"

Lance clenched his fists. "Leave him alone, Pietro." He was ignored.

"Generous of him, isn't it? So, you gonna take this offer? Or do you have someplace better to go?"

Silence. Of course, Pietro had known the answer before he asked it.

"You _could _always go and join the X-geeks. Oooh, I forgot. Theydidn'twantyoueither."

"Shut your mouth, Pietro!" Fred yelled, having had enough. Todd could have said plenty to his own defense, but he didn't see the use in it. Pietro would dodge anything he had to throw and turn it against him. 

Pietro sneered. "Why don't you make me shut up, Blob? Come on, I dare ya." Fred didn't move. "For once, you're using your brain. You losers don't want to throw away this chance. Because I assure you, it's the last one you're going to get." He looked directly at Todd and the boy's eyes voiced their anger and pain better than words could.

Ice blue seared cruelly into smoldering amber. Pietro was the first to break contact, turning on his heel. "Let's go upstairs. We'll start with cleaning my room first." Todd's glare wavered into a neutral gaze at the floor. Lance passed his younger teammate up the stairs, and paused just briefly to put a hand on his shoulder. As grateful as he was, Todd couldn't find the strength to lift his head and look the older boy in the face. His eyes swept the ground, mindlessly counting each step until they reached the second floor.

Pietro's amazed whistle came from the doorway of his room. "Well, you guys sure turned this place upside down. Kinda funny. You didn't have the balls to come find me, so you thought you'd be tough and wreck the room. How very mature." 

Lance rolled his eyes, not liking the fact that Pietro's words stung.

"Until you jokes clean my room, I'll be moving whatever doesn't reek like Toad into Wanda's place."

"And you think she's just going to let you?" Todd snapped, looking up. A cold smirk played across his features. "I seriously don't wanna be you when she gets back."

"Oh, really?" Pietro was in Todd's face once again, cornering him in front of Wanda's bedroom. "I think you're forgetting a teensy little fact. Wanda's so busy looking for Magneto she won't return until she finds him. Guess when_ that'll_ happen?" 

"You better _hope_ never," muttered the frog-boy. The smug grin left Pietro's face. "Wanda can take care of herself, but she'll come back whether she finds Magneto or not. This is her home. And soon as she found you in _her room_, she'd put yo ass in a sling 'fore you could cry for daddy to come rescue you. Not that it'd help. Wanda's way too powerful for either one of you losers to handle."

"I wouldn't be talking about losers, if I were you," Pietro jeered. But Toad didn't stop. 

"We don't need Magneto and we don't need _you_." For once in his life, Todd straightened his back to address the speed-gifted mutant before him. "So why don't you just go back and ask yo father's Acolytes to train you? Then maybe _you'll_ be some use to him and he won't have to call on the rest of us to fight his goddamn --"

Todd's skull hit the doorframe with a sharp crack as Pietro's fist blurred across his face. He refused to let himself fall further than his knees. A moment of non-existent recovery lapsed before he was tugged up by his sleeves and shoved into the corner of the opposite wall. "Listen, swamp-breath. First of all, you have the annoying habit of hiding behind people bigger and stronger than you. Right now, you happen to think Wanda's your personal savior, but let me tell ya - she'd sooner leave you out to dry than lift one finger to help you. The fact that she wants me dead is just a lucky coincidence that you're all too willing to stand by and root for. Because you don't have the guts to do it yourself."

Pietro turned his steely gaze to the other two boys. "None of you do. Mystique left you, Xavier doesn't need you, and neither does Magneto. But here's the beauty of it; you three need _someone_, and Magneto is the only one still willing to offer a place on his team. Only if you work for it. I'm here to help you meet the criteria. And I'd appreciate a little more gratitude."

"Don't go all anthropologist on us now, Mini-Mag," Todd shot back, wiping away blood. "All you care about is kissin' your father's buns of steel."

Pietro sighed. "Don't you think you advertised your big mouth _enough_ for today?"

"Shut up."

"You know, I don't think I will. I'm having way too much fun putting you in your place."

"Fun? Why are you havin' fun, Pietro?" Todd yelled, voice breaking. "Someday you're gonna slip and fall too. And when he kicks you aside like garbage - man, you're gonna wonder why." 

"No." Pietro gripped Todd's throat and forced the boy's chin up. "I'm not going to fall. Ever. _You_ have yet to reach a level where you can fall _from_." With a look of digust, Maximoff pushed the younger boy off-balance. Todd stumbled ungracefully and hit the ground with a yelp. "If he hadn't found you first, Toad, he wouldn't have found you at all. Just remember that."

Pietro's footsteps continued down the hall and the door to Wanda's room slammed shut behind them.

"Jerk," rumbled Fred.

"Yeah, Freddy. Jerk." Lance personally wanted to call Pietro something much worse, but he couldn't find the words. "Todd?"

The boy gripped the wall, pulling himself up. Lance couldn't help but stare as Todd numbly made his way toward his room. 

"Hey," Freddy complained, "Aren't you gonna help--"

"Shhh." interrupted Alvers, furiously. "Todd?" he tried again, keeping his voice low. "Hey, all that stuff he said didn't --" The door shut with a resounding click, cutting him off. Lance closed his eyes for a brief moment. "Okay. Come on, Freddy."

"Will he be okay?" the giant asked, looking concerned and a tad guilty for his moment of insensitivity. 

"He just needs some time alone. You know how he is. Let's get moving; we need to sound busy."

"So why'd he pick on Todd?" mumbled Fred, attempting to bend the bedframe back in shape.

"Because it's easy. Pietro's stressed. And Todd can't squash Pietro like a bug if he gets mad."

"Oh. Coward." 

"Yeah. Coward," Lance sighed. Maybe they should invent a new word for Pietro. No close matches were coming up yet.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Her eyes narrowed in absolute fury as she took in the sight of Pietro lying on her bed. _Make yourself comfortable, why don't you. You . . . jerk. _Okay, she _had_ to find a better word than that, but sources were coming up dry. 

She watched Pietro, the latter unable to see her as his back was to the window and he was too busy listening to _her _discman to pay attention. Hmmm. If he was _this_ relaxed, something was very wrong. She'd watched him and Gambit enter the house, then observed Gambit leave alone. Something was definitely up, and they certainly couldn't have forgotten about her. Nobody was _that _dumb. Not even that idiot frog-boy. 

Wanda blinked. Speaking of the frog-boy . . . didn't Todd usually leave his window open to let the flies in? That was a way to sneak in and find out what was going on. She watched Pietro suspiciously for a moment longer, then stealthfully made her way back along the roof. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Todd opened his eyes at the feel of six tiny legs scuttling across his tear-streaked face. A housefly. Nice fat one too. He let it crawl around, too tired to catch or brush it off. After a few moments, it flew away uninterested. Todd shut his eyes again and turned over to rest his head on the undampened half of his pillow. 

He hoped nobody had heard. As if Maximoff really needed something else to make him feel idiotic for. He did a good enough job of that himself. Todd moaned at the memory of some of his own words. Why the hell had he even opened his mouth? 

_Quickie got me good, yo. Guess I do count on other people to save my ass. I mean, what if I had stood up to him by myself? I would've lost, probably, but at least I mighta got some respect. _

Todd rolled over on his back, kicking away the twisted blankets that kept him unevenly warm. He had to think. About what they were going to do now, whether he should bother trying to get back in Pietro's good graces - a thought which sickened him more than that of sucking up to Magneto for a place on his team. He really couldn't stand up for himself alone. At best, he could bring himself to sabotage, but the thought of getting caught made his stomach twist with anxiety and fear. It wasn't that his powers were useless, it was just him. His mentality. His fear of pain. Fear of loss. 

There were times his love for Wanda frightened him. A part of him knew deep down that if Magneto really wanted to, he could easily kill her. And Todd honestly-to-goodness _cared_. Cared to the point that he could see himself doing something incredibly stupid after watching her die, like trying to avenge her. He'd never had those kind of thoughts before; they were so cliché and foreign he didn't know what to make of them. 

Something clunked near the window. Probably his stupid school books falling off the table. Todd groaned and draped an arm across his eyes. He'd pick them up later. He was too depressed to even move right now, and Pietro was probably going to start pounding on the door any minute, demanding why he wasn't working with the others. Screw the books, they were expelled from school anyway.

A hand suddenly clamped down over his mouth. Todd gave a muffled squeal of fright and his long legs scurried to move himself off the bed and out from under his assailant. Of course, he succeeded only in getting tangled in the sheets. 

"_Shut up!_" hissed a familiar voice. "It's _me_, for chrissakes."

His heart soared in delight. "WMDA!" he exclaimed, still muffled. 'Wmda' glared. "Make so much as _one_ peep and you'll be eating your own fried legs."

She lifted her hand and he sat upright. "Where've you been?" he whispered. "You don't _wanna_ know who's in your room right now."

"Pietro." 

"I tried stoppin' him, but -- hey, how'd you know?"

"I saw him."

Todd looked around nervously, listening. "Did he see you?"

"No. If he did, you'd be hearing him screaming."

"He didn't think you'd come back 'til you found yo father. You, um . . . have any luck?"

Wanda scowled. "No. I came back for a few items only to discover that my brother was here. It's no matter. I'll return for him once I kill Magneto."

"Um, about that, cuddlebumps. I think you should lay offa the whole 'revenge' thing, y'know? I mean, you could get hurt." 

"Rrrr!" Wanda growled. "I am_ not_ your cuddlebumps! And I can take care of myself, quite unlike you." 

Todd noticeably flinched. "Of course you can. But I . . . I just don't want anything to happen to you."

"I don't_ need_ you to mother me," she snapped irritably. "Just tell me why Pietro's here, and why he's still in one piece."

"Um . . . we were saving him for you?"

Wanda snorted. "Try again."

"Um. Kay." He told her. Ten seconds later . . .

"Ow, ow! Take it easy, that's my only pillow!"

"I cannot _believe_ you spineless little sycophants went crawling back to _Him!_" Wanda yelled, whacking him with the pillow. Little tufts of feathers floated merrily in every direction. "After everything he's done, what on earth makes you think he needs you for anything more than - than target practice, or decoys for suicide missions?" She tossed the half-emptied pillow back into the mess of blankets and sat down with a growl. 

"Well, what were we 'sposed to do, yo? Whole world knows about mutants now. It'll be just a matter of time before the biologists and government agencies are crawlin' all over us. We need protection and it ain't like Xavier's X-geeks would let us in."

"Haven't you ever thought of trying to make it on your own?" 

"Come on, we can't all be like you. You don't need nobody," he said, voice full of such warm admiration it actually made Wanda's cheeks color slightly. She allowed herself a small smirk. Encouraged, Todd seated himself next to her and was promptly shoved to the floor. "Hey, it's my bed, yo," he complained.

"Yeah, well it's my personal space." A bit miffed, he looked away and Wanda caught sight of the thin paths of moisture down his cheek. She grew silent. He didn't say another word. Both sat, lost in the awkward moment. A sharp rapping on the door brought them hurriedly to their feet. 

"Toad! You have ten seconds to get out of that room and start working," Pietro's voice shrilled. Wanda grimaced. Her brother was just as spoiled as ever. Toad grit his teeth and moved over to the open window. 

"Where are you going?" Wanda whispered, barely audible to Todd over Pietro's continuing threats. But he merely hopped up to perch on the sill.

"Nowhere," he murmured. She could hear him now because Pietro's pestering had ceased at the door. His argument with Fred drifted faintly down the hall. "Absolutely fucking nowhere." 

There was a desolation in his tone that brought Wanda several steps closer to him, though she did not care to fathom why. 

"Hey, I will _not_ be ignored!" The door banged as if kicked. "Get out here! I mean _this_ decade, Toad. You just gonna lie there and think about how miserable you are? Well it's nothin' compared to how miserable you're gonna be out there on the streets, buddy. Let's see how tough you talk after you get trashed by a mob."

"Pietro, just chill out, man," Lance could be heard.

"No, I've had it with the little shit thinking he knows everything! He used us for his own protection, now he's trying to use Wanda!"

"That's not true," Todd said, not daring to look at her or back at the door. He stared ahead at the wind blown tree branches of the forest surrounding the boarding house.

"Oh, its true. The most powerful one gets your loyalty, isn't that right? And I bet if someone came along more powerful than Wanda, you'd ditch her in a heartbeat! Probably even offer to help finish her off if there was an angle to it." 

_That _got a reaction.

"You'd know all about freakin' _angles_ wouldn't you, Pietro?!" Todd yelled back, leaping across the room in one bound to land on the bed where he arched his back like an angry cat. His voice quivered with rage, sounding too harsh in his own ears. "I would sooner _die_ than hurt Wanda, something you might understand perfectly being her brother - but WAIT. Maybe not, since yousure as hell found an _angle_ in ditching her along with the rest of us, _didn't_ you?!" 

The temperature dropped a few degrees. Pietro's own voice was deadly smooth. "Open this door and say all that to my face. Just do it, I dare you. I want to see if you can." 

And of course, Toad could not. Because Wanda was standing somewhere behind him and opening the door would - while satisfyingly scare the crap out of Pietro - make the situation worse. Though tempted, neither of them moved. The hesitation of both answered the challenge. "Figures," Pietro laughed. "I could easily come in there if I was in the mood, and I will if you aren't outside and working by the time I check again. When Father calls, this little incident will be mentioned."

"Dear god save me," sneered Todd, though mostly under his breath. Wanda's bedroom door slammed. The Scarlet Witch turned her speculative gaze to Todd. He did not meet it. "That . . . wasn't very smart of me, was it?"

"Probably not," she replied. "But it was your honest opinion."

"Yeah, and I wouldn't have said it if you hadn't been around to save me." 

Wanda's eyebrow quirked. "I never _said_ you were under my protection."

Todd slumped down. "You didn't _have_ to, Wanda. You were just standing there and that's all you had to do for me to show I had a spine. One on one against Pietro with no backup nearby and I'd choke. That's just the way I am, a freakin' loser who needs his friends to fight his battles." He leaned forward, elbows touching knees in a defensive-looking huddle. "Magneto's left me twice. Xavier didn't even want me to _begin_ with. I'm gonna get left behind on my own again or worse, I just know it. I ain't useful to anybody, not even myself."

An arm wrapped around his shoulders. "Don't cop yourself out. I think having friends to stick up for you is lucky, not a weakness." Wanda smiled. "Unless you pay by the hour." 

She felt him laugh silently as he shook his head.

"Everyone has an opinion on worth. Either you make it up to their standards or you become expendable. Pietro could be cast aside as easily as I was for anything short of perfection though he refuses to believe it. Not being 'good enough' for Magneto is _nothing_ to be ashamed of, Todd. It means you still have a shred of humanity left in you."

Something in the room sizzled and popped. A burnt smell rose in the air. "Uhh, sweetums?" Todd ventured nervously, lifting his head.

"You know how I get when I speak of him," Wanda smoldered. 

"Y-yeah. Maybe you should think of something else for a bit? Like, y'know, cute fluffy things," Todd cringed and shrunk down against her as the ceiling fan above gave a loud crackle and emitted a shower of sparks. "Or not."

A tiny hint of a smile played over Wanda's lips while she attempted to cool down. "I can't stay here for much longer. Pietro will find out and panic. I want him to stay here where I can see him. In the meantime . . ." Her fingers curled, brushing lightly against his cheek before she lifted her arm from around his form. "In the meantime, _you_ should get to work before my brother throws another one of his tantrums."

Todd gave a small mutter of protest as she pushed him away from herself and the bed and guided him to his feet. "I'll be close by watching you all. _Don't_ try to find me." She stood up, straightening out the folds of her black coat. "I know it isn't what any of you want right now. But I'd like you to let Pietro train you. Learn what you can. The first and only person you have to be useful to is yourself. Then _maybe_ care about what others want."

He stared at her for a moment then nodded. "Hey, Wanda?" he asked as she approached the window. She paused, listening. "If there's anything at all I can ever do to help you . . . all you have to do is ask. I think you knew that already, though."

She turned to smile at him. "I appreciate that. Good luck." And then she was gone.

Todd glowed. _She . . . smiled . . . at me! Ohhh, yeah, Tolensky you are the chick **magnet!** _

The door busted open, interrupting him in mid victory-dance. "_What_ are you doing?" laughed Fred. Todd froze, both arms extended over his head. 

"Uh . . . stretching. Y'know, before I get to work tidyin' up Pietro's room and stuff."

"Oookay. Well, we're not even halfway done so you better hurry up. Lance sent me to get you so he didn't have to hear Pietro ranting again. He's getting a headache."

"Uh-oh. I'm helpin'." Fred stopped him on his way out the door by means of simply holding out his hand and letting Todd bounce off of it. "Yo, what gives?"

"You seem a lot happier than I heard earlier." Fred tilted his head, regarding the youngest member of the Brotherhood curiously. "You always recover fast. But I want you to know that if Pietro messes with you again, Lance and I will --"

Todd lowered his head. "No. You don't gotta --"

"Hey, don't let Pietro talk you down about that. The Brotherhood sticks together. Pietro's just forgotten that."

"Think he'll ever remember?"

"Who can tell?" Lance snapped, walking past with an armload of cleaning supplies. "We can't count on him anymore. Not for anything really important." Alvers tossed Todd a few rags and pointed meaningfully towards Pietro's room. Not in the mood to complain, Todd walked inside and set to scrubbing at a few green spots on the wall. Lance, who had been fully prepared to give Todd a list of reasons why he should do as he was told, lost a bit of the wind in his sails when he saw that he was actually being listened to. 

The three continued to work, unknowing that Pietro was staring out of his sister's window, his thoughts lost in the past. "I haven't failed Father, but I've failed you, Wanda. You and everyone else." A tear slid down his face and he brushed it away angrily. He had made his choice. There was no turning back. 

Pietro turned from the window to make sure his new charges were working. 

**~ The End ~**  


KEY:  
(1) **Morceau de gâteau, vraiment** - Piece of cake, truly.  
(2) **Votre vieil ami** - Your old friend.

A/N: Well, yeah, I changed this little story around because it was . . . ugh. Maybe it's 'ugh' now, I dunno. I might've made it worse. Let me know if I should've left it the way it was. It just feels more complete that way. Sorry for makin Pietro such a bitch. ;_; I couldn't help it, he really made me angry. I still like him though and it was hella fun to make him so mean. :D I also made Todd a bit brattier because hey, Pietro ain't the kind of guy to just attack people because he can. That was my mistake in the first version of this story. Also, I'd made Wanda too mushy. (if I did it again, gomen.) Shutting up now before I write another paragraph criticizing this fic. That's your job!!!


End file.
